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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717203">Tornado</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mooncat99/pseuds/Mooncat99'>Mooncat99</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>#barchie - Freeform, #beginning relationship, #not beta-ed, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:47:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717203</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mooncat99/pseuds/Mooncat99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A tornado is blowing through Riverdale, leaving destruction in its wake - but also something beautiful and new, when in the face of death, Archie and Betty are forced to get their hearts straight.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Archie Andrews &amp; Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Let Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Deepcore Barchie.<br/>This is set after 4-18. As I’m still stuck in the friend zone with those two in my other stories, I needed one where I can indulge in them getting beyond that and fast. Hence dropping a tornado on Riverdale to get there with warp speed.<br/>I did take some liberties with canon in order to get this on the road, especially with Polly, but it doesn’t really matter for the story itself.<br/>Warnings: Language, all that happened in Riverdale can be mentioned here, not beta-ed and my first language isn’t English, but I do my best. Also, this has in no way any expectations to be in line with science.<br/>Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or settings, just borrowing them.<br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Tornado</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>1 - Let go</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>It seemed to turn out to be a perfectly normal night in Riverdale. When, shortly after the daylight faded, as people sat in their homes, watching television, as friends met for a milkshake at Pops and a concert from an old friend in La Bonne Nuit, or as Sheriff Jones and his Serpent deputies patrolled the streets, no one was aware yet that the night ahead was going to change Riverdale and their citizens forever.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What was thought solid, was going to crumble. What was thought important, was going to become meaningless. Whereas many were going to learn what really was important and who one really loved.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It all started when a young adult, after getting a text from his father, rushed down the stairs to the infamous club of one Veronica Lodge, the dire warning he brought with him breaking up the joyous reunion with an old friend visiting home after almost a year living and struggling in New York City, kicking lose a series of events Riverdale and the friends gathered there were never going to forget.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A night during which kids grew into adults and the boy next door became a man.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Guys! There's a tornado warning!"</p><p>They all turned to Kevin. Veronica voiced what they all thought. "Haha, very funny.”</p><p>But face blanch, with the whites of his eyes showing, Kevin nodded. "Dad just texted me and I’ve checked the news myself. A tornado. Heading straight towards Riverdale. A big one."</p><p>"But we never had a tornado in Riverdale! We're not even in the belt!", Reggie argued.</p><p>"Yeah, well, such things don't matter when the climate is changing", Toni pointed out dryly.</p><p>Cheryl though, grabbing the hand of her girlfriend, focused on what was important. "Veronica, are we save down here?"</p><p>"I don't know! Wait, let me go ask Pop", the young club owner replied, vanishing upstairs.</p><p>Archie, so far having only listened, grabbed Kevin's arm, one thought only screaming through his mind. "Have you seen Betty? Or heard from her?"</p><p>Kevin frowned, looking rather surprised Archie asked him. "No. I thought she was here for Josie's show, like everyone else."</p><p>Yeah, that had been the plan. Josie had come back from NY for their parents anniversary and Veronica had organized an impromptu concert from her at the club. But so far both Jughead and Betty had been a no-show. Which didn't surprise him with Jughead, he was still more interested in catching the tape stalker than anything else, including being there for his girlfriend, leaving her alone at more and more of their social gatherings. But Betty had promised to come and she wasn't one to not show up, not without telling anyone. She may not contact him, ever since their last heart-to-heart in the bunker she'd avoided him like he was poison, but she'd have at least texted Veronica or Kevin. Or …</p><p>He looked at Cheryl. "What about you? Has she said anything to you about not coming?"</p><p>Cheryl gave him one of her looks that were supposed to make the fools stupid enough to address her uninvited sputter and slink away. He just narrowed his eyes. After another couple seconds of silent battle of their wills and determination, she gave in. "No, she just texted a while back she may be running late. She was at Polly's, babysitting the twins this afternoon while she had a job interview."</p><p>Which meant she may have still been on the road when the warning came in, maybe not even having heard it yet. Or, he thought panicked, maybe she already crossed the tornado's path, after all, he had no idea yet from where it was supposed to come.</p><p>"Thanks", he muttered, whipping out his phone. Cringing when he realized Betty may ignore anything coming from him, he turned back to Cheryl. "Will you text or call to warn her, just in case?"</p><p>She observed him for a moment, searchingly, before she nodded. "I will."</p><p>He nodded, then bounded up the stairs, his own phone already at his ear, calling her. It went straight to voice mail. Damn it. He changed to their abandoned chat conversation, texting her instead.</p><p>‘<em>Tornado heading towards Riverdale. Get shelter, now!'.</em></p><p>He took three rapid breaths, his breathing having changed to short gasps of air. Jason's murder investigation, Northsiders going after Betty for her association with the Southside and the Serpents, the Black Hood singling her out, the farm and Gargoyles coming after her, Donna and her pets framing her for murder, drugging her, stalking her, yet, he'd never been so scared for Betty like in that moment.</p><p>'<em>Please, Betty, just let me know you're safe.', he added.</em></p><p>But he saw she hadn't even read his first message yet. He tried calling her again, but it was only straight to voice mail once again. This time he left a message, just in case, before letting his hand sink down.</p><p>Shit, shit, shit.</p><p>Why didn't she answer? Why didn't she check her messages? Had it come so far for her to having blocked him? Even in her fucking contacts? Or was it because she was still driving and responsible as she was, ignored her phone ringing and buzzing?</p><p>Or … or couldn't she answer?</p><p>Veronica popped up beside him, grabbing his arm. "Archie! Pop says the speak easy was originally also a shelter, so we should be safe downstairs. Come on!" She pulled at him, but he didn't move. "Archie?"</p><p>Everything in him was so tight, he felt like he couldn't breathe. All his muscles were flexed, ready to spring, almost painfully waiting for him to put them into action. And his mind … it spun and spun, slamming him over and over with only one single conscious thought: Betty. Betty, Betty, Betty.</p><p>"I need to go."</p><p>"What? No, you can't! Where would you even want to go? Everyone is heading for shelter. The sirens can go off any moments now, signaling it's coming."</p><p>He shook his head, backing away, but she still held on to him. "I need to find Betty."</p><p>"Betty?" She frowned. "I'm sure she's fine."</p><p>He wasn't. Actually, he was almost certain she wasn't. Something was wrong, he just felt it in his bones, with everything he was. He couldn't explain it, he didn't understand it, he just knew he had to go looking for her. "I need to find her, make sure", he just replied, moving towards the door.</p><p>But she still held him back, her nails digging into his arm. "Archie, no! You can't! It's too dangerous."</p><p>"Damn it, Ronnie, let go!" Ripping his arm free, he whirled towards her. "Just - let go." He wasn't just talking about her grip on his arm and seeing something in her eyes change, he knew she understood perfectly. Everything in him urged him to go, but he stood still, knowing the least he owed Veronica was to finish this properly. Once and for all. "I'm sorry, Ronnie."</p><p>Pain filled her eyes, etched over her face. "But you love Betty. Not me."</p><p>He shook his head. This was so damn complicated. "I've always loved Betty. But I was in love with you. I still love you." He did, he really did. "Please, don't doubt that."</p><p>"But now it's the other way around", she said, bitterly. "What? When did it change? Was it the fake dating?"</p><p>"No", he said, running his hand through his hair. "No, that didn't change anything. And to be honest, I'm still not sure what's going on between Betty and me. Or even if there ever will be something else between us than us being friends. All I know is that I can't deny anymore that she … I don't know how to explain, Ronnie. She's everywhere inside me. She's everything to me. And that's why I know I need to go find her now. I honestly believe she's in trouble, somewhere, and I can't breathe until I make sure she's safe."</p><p>He could practically see in her eyes how her heart broke, resignation consuming her anger. The part of him that had been her boyfriend on and off for the past almost three years wanted to take her in his arms so badly, to reassure her that all was going to be all right. But he knew it would be a lie, that he couldn't give her that comfort anymore.</p><p>She slung her arms tightly around herself and looked down. "Then go."</p><p>He took a step away from her, hesitated. "Ronnie …"</p><p>She shook her head. "Just go, Archie. Go find Betty. Make sure she's safe. That you both are safe."</p><p>He breathed out. "You are incredible, Veronica Lodge." She was. And he had been damn lucky to have her as his first real girlfriend. He most certainly was a fool to let her go for something he wasn't sure was ever going to be. Nevertheless, he couldn't help it. He had to try, had to see if maybe, he and Betty were destined for another journey than the one they had forced their friendship on these past years. And he knew as certainly that as long as another girl could fill him with so much confusion and longing, then he had no place to string Veronica along until he figured out what his heart really wanted.</p><p>"Thank you", he said, from the deepest depth of his heart. "And believe me, Ronnie - I'm so, so very sorry."</p><p>This time he didn't linger but turned and rushed out, the bells over the door jingling. As he ran to his truck, the irony wasn't beyond him. Three years ago, the same bells had jingled as Veronica came into his life as he was sitting with Betty in their booth, briefly forgetting that she was even there. Now they jingled again as he walked out on Veronica for good, going to search for his heart, the girl he then had so foolishly took for granted.</p><p>Betty</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Your idiot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the tornado hitting Riverdale any moment now, Archie is desperate to find Betty. Will he find her in time? Will they both escape the tornado?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, fair warning, I’m a sucker for catastrophe movies, Tornado clearly the inspiration for this one. And just like with most of these movies, this will have little to do with realism. Totally bluckbustering here.<br/>Also, remember, this is as Barchie as it can possible get.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>2 - Your idiot</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>After not being able to reach Betty again and seeing she still hadn't read his messages, he tried Jughead. Maybe she was with him after all. Or maybe Jughead was also already looking for her and they could coordinate in order to cover more ground and not check both the same places. But he couldn't get through to Jughead either. Ugh! It was so frustrating!</p><p>His phone rang and he had it at his ear immediately, not bothering to check who the caller was. "Betty?", he asked hopefully, against his better knowledge.</p><p>"No, it's me." It was the voice of his mom. "Thank God I got through to you, Archie. Are you in a shelter? Are you safe?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm good", he lied, seeing no point in worrying his mom. "You?"</p><p>"Alice, Jellybean and I are heading to the shelter below the police station as we speak. FP is still out patrolling, but he'll join us as soon as he finished his round."</p><p>Good, that was good. "Betty isn't with you?" He had to ask. "Has she checked in with Mrs Cooper?"</p><p>There was a beat of silence and a murmur in the background. "Archie?" That was Mrs Cooper. "Betty isn't with you? I thought you were all at Veronica’s club.”</p><p>It was a bit too late to lie to her now, wasn’t it? Oh, Betty was so going to have his ass for letting this slip. Of course, first he had to find her. “No, she hadn’t arrived yet when the warning came in. Cheryl mentioned she was at Polly’s this afternoon? Babysitting? Maybe she stayed there?”</p><p>“No, Polly called as soon as she saw the tornado warning for Riverdale. Betty had left already over an hour ago. She should have been back by now!”</p><p>“I’m sure she’s fine”, he lied, trying to calm Betty’s mom down. “Maybe the road got blocked or she found someplace to hole in on the way and her cell’s just not working. I’ve had problems reaching people.”</p><p>Well, Betty and Jughead, but they were people, weren’t they?</p><p>Mrs Cooper breathed in deeply. “Probably. But I’ll call FP and Charles, maybe they see or hear something.”</p><p>Good idea. The more out on the lookout for Betty the better. “Will you please let me know if you hear something?”, he asked, begged really.</p><p>“Yes, you too. Hold on, your mother wants to speak to you again.”</p><p>“Archie?”, his mom came back, sounding worried. “Are you sure you’re safe? You’re not planning to do anything dangerous, are you?”</p><p>She was such a lawyer. But having grown up with a bad-ass lawyer as a mother, he early on had learned to avoid her trap questions. For example, he was long past planning, and it was arguable what was more dangerous, him being stuck in a shelter, going mad with worry and foreboding and most likely dying from grief if he actually lost Betty or him going out to find her, only maybe crossing path with a tornado as he searched for her. So he didn’t even have to lie as he answered. “No, Mom, I’m not. Don’t worry. I gotta go. Be safe.”</p><p>He hung up, steering his truck towards the road Betty should have taken in order to return home from her sister’s place. It was his best bet to find her, figuring something must have happened on the drive back. He turned the radio on, switching to the local news program.</p><p>“Citizens of Greendale, Riverdale and Hillsdale, if you haven’t sought out shelter yet, do it now. The tornado is heading your way. We repeat, a F4, possible F5 tornado is expected to hit towns along Sweetwater River within the next hour. People in that area, you need to go to safety.”</p><p>Shit.</p><p>Checking the sky, he could already see a dark front looming, not so much that he actually saw the clouds, but the lack of light and stars. A gust of wind pushed against his truck and he had to swerve in order to stay on the road, his heart beating fast.</p><p>Fuck.</p><p>If Betty already had such gusts to deal with on her drive back ... Leaving the last outskirts of town, he was heading towards the woods. Switching on the fog lights, he slowed down, despite it going against his every instinct. But it had to be done to better keep in control of his vehicle and so he could check the side of the roads for any signs of a stranded car.</p><p>God, he hoped it was just stranded and not crashed. Or even better, nothing at all.</p><p>He drove on, squinting out of the windows, desperate for any sign of Betty or the Cooper’s car. Doubt piled up with every mile he drove. Could he even see anything amiss in this darkness? Or was he doomed to maybe just drive by her without seeing her? Was he even on the right road? She could have taken another route, after all. Or maybe she made a detour. Or maybe she did decide on the drive back, hearing the news, the best action was to stay away or stop to seek shelter somewhere along the road. Maybe the storm interfered with her cell phone signal and that’s why she didn’t answer any calls or texts. Or her battery was down.</p><p>No. No, not with Betty. Especially not when she had gone to babysit the twins. She’d have made extra sure that her phone was charged, probably having a power bank as backup just in case she needed it for an emergency.</p><p>The wind was getting stronger and he got the sinking feeling that he was heading straight towards the storm front rather than away.</p><p>As if on cue it started to rain. Not a drizzle, no, a veritable downpour, the raindrops whipping against his truck with a vengeance.</p><p>Yet, he continued on, something urging him forward rather than do the sensible thing and turn around, putting more distance between him and the storm front. Being down to a crawl, he slowly made his way through the woods, making sure to scan every inch of both sides of the road.</p><p>“Come on, where are you?”, he murmured out into the world, the tight feeling in his chest getting worse, the constant scream in his mind for Betty getting more frantic and desperate.</p><p>“Please”, he whispered. “Please.”</p><p>He was almost certain she was somewhere out here. Again, he couldn’t explain why he was so sure - and oh how he hoped he was wrong - but he couldn’t stop and turn around, his need to find her getting more and more intense and all consuming by the second.</p><p>It got darker and darker, the deeper he drove into the woods, his sight pretty much down to a couple of feet, despite the fog lights.</p><p>All the more strikingly glaring it was when he suddenly could see red lights blinking. A pair of them actually. Warn blinkers!</p><p>Accelerating, he surged forward, coming to a screeching stop as he reached the lights. He had been right, it was a car that seemed to have come off the road, only the heck of it still sticking out onto the read, barely. One he knew only too well, having seen it parked in front of his neighbor’s house for years.</p><p>“Betty!”</p><p>He was out of his truck in a flash. With the wind and the rain pouring down on him, he was already drenched by the time he reached the car. The front of it was crashed into a tree, with a fallen one right beside it blocking the driver’s side completely, making his heart stop.</p><p>“Betty!”</p><p>The ditch was steep and he mostly slid and stumbled down it, steadying himself against the passenger’s side. The windows were too drenched with rain and dirt and partially blocked by branches from the fallen tree to let him see in yet, fueling his fear at what he might find inside. At last reaching the passenger door, he ripped open the door. It stuck for a frightening moment, but then thankfully it complied, letting him have his first glimpse inside.</p><p>“Betty?!”</p><p>Green-blue eyes blinked against the sudden overhead light going on as he had opened the door. “Archie?”</p><p>His heart sagged with relief, but only momentary as the wind picked up, gusts slamming against him, reminding him that they were still very much in danger and realizing there must be a reason why Betty hadn’t climbed out through the passenger side yet. He kneed onto the passenger seat, reaching out to take her face between his hands, taking stock, checking her eyes. There was a nasty bump on her forehead and some cuts on the side of her pale face where the driver’s window must have splintered, but her eyes looked clear to him. Still, he was far from relaxed. “Are you hurt?” Blinking again, she was still staring at him wide-eyed. “Betty, please, talk to me.”</p><p>“What are you doing here?”</p><p>He frowned. That was hardly important now! “Looking for you. Betty, there’s a tornado about to drop on us any minute now. We need to get you out of here but you really need to first tell me if and where you’re hurt.” Though he had no idea how he could afford to take the time to somehow lift her out of here if her spine was hurt or she had inner injuries, still, maybe he could somehow avoid worsening it or at least maybe first apply a pressure bandage if she was bleeding somewhere.</p><p>But she ignored his plea again. “Why aren’t you at Pop’s? Weren’t you there for Josie’s concert?”</p><p>“Yeah, but you weren’t”, he answered, exasperated, as he took further stock of the situation. “Haven’t you heard what I said? A tornado ...”</p><p>“I’ve heard, it has been all over the radio while I drove back. I tried to get back to Riverdale in time, but some smaller twister got me, landing me here.” Betty grabbed his hands on her face and pulled them down, gazing urgently into his eyes. “Arch. You need to go. Now. Maybe you still have time to get to a shelter.”</p><p>“What? No, we first need to get you out of here!” He started to pull his hands away in order to proceed to do just that, but she held on, shaking her head.</p><p>“I can’t. I’m stuck, the steering wheel is pinning me down. There’s no time to get me out, for sure not by you alone. That’s why you need to go. You hear me, Arch?” Her eyes were moist with yet unshed tears, but also filled with firm conviction. “You need to get yourself to a shelter.”</p><p>His world stilled. Looking down to her legs, he finally saw the entire steering wheel compartment tilted in an unnatural way, practically laying in her lap. His gaze sweeping through the rest of the car, desperately on the lookout for some sort of sign for hope, he also registered her phone laying on the floor in front of the passenger seat, out of reach for her. At least she hadn’t blocked him after all. Then panic flooded him again, getting his world spinning again, and he grabbed the steering wheel, trying to pull it off her lap. It moved a few inches only, which was of absolutely no use.</p><p>“Forget it, it won’t budge. I guess only the jaws of life will get me out of here, but not before that sucker sweeps through.” She tried to pry his fingers off the steering wheel. “You understand? That’s why you need to leave. Right now.”</p><p>He let go but only to bend down, reaching beneath her seat to pull up the handle for her car seat before he pushed back against the seat, trying to get it to slide back. But again, it barely moved a few inches. Twisting onto his side, he stemmed himself against the steering wheel, again trying to push it back, hoping the few inches more were enough for her to be able to wiggle out from beneath it.</p><p>It wasn’t enough. Gritting his teeth, he pushed again, giving it all he could.</p><p>Not enough.</p><p>With an angry growl, he sat up.</p><p>Betty reached over to grab his chin, turning it towards her. “Arch, you did all you could. It’s no use, I won’t get out of here. But you can. And you will. Now.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Her eyes filled with anguish. “Please. You have to. There’s no sense in both of us dying. Not when you can save yourself.”</p><p>“Betty, just stop.” Exasperated, he glared at her. “I’m not leaving you. You should rather help me figure out how to free you than waste both of our time with pleading for something that is not going to happen.”</p><p>“There will be no freeing me!”, she cried out, panting. “Look, maybe the tornado won’t pass through here. Then you can come back with reinforcement and get me out of here, but right now you need to face facts, and that is me stuck here with no way out. But there’s no need for you to risk your life any further. So please, for your mom, for Veronica, for me - Go. Now!”</p><p>Narrowing his eyes, he took her face between his hands again. “Now you listen to me, Betty Cooper: I will not - not now, not ever - leave you. We get out of here or we don’t, either way, we’re going to face it together.”</p><p>Her tears spilled over, her face scrunched up with an agony he recognized only too well. “That’s stupid, Arch. I don’t want your death on my conscious. I want you to live. Especially if I can’t survive, I want and need you to survive for the both of us.”</p><p>“Don’t you get it? I don’t. In fact, I refuse to live in a world where there is no Betty Cooper. Because you are my entire world”, he confessed, the last half an hour having made that perfectly clear to him. “So no, I won’t leave, not without you. We’ll survive or we don’t, but we’re going to do it together.”</p><p>Her lips quivered and she pushed at his chest. “You’re crazy!”</p><p>He shrugged. “Maybe. For you. I’d rather call it love though. I’ve loved you my whole life, Betty. I’m in love with you, crazily so.” There was no doubt in his mind, heart or soul anymore about what he was feeling. He loved this girl. As his best friend, as his first go to person, as his role model, as his confident, as his life-long neighbor but most of all, he was crazy for her.</p><p>Her eyes widened. “No! No, you’re not. You just think so because death is looming and you may ...”</p><p>He shut her up with a kiss. Like with their last kiss in his garage, it was a cumulation of everything he felt, with the exception that this time, there was no uncertainty anymore in his heart, no surprise, no wondering. Which made this kiss so much more intense, which he would have thought impossible, considering how Earth shattering that last one had been. And he knew then and there that this kiss also sealed the deal for him with a finality that should be scary, but it didn’t scare him, to the contrary, it put his heart at peace finally, bringing a soothing calm to his soul. Betty was it for him. He was never going to kiss another girl again, not even thinking about it. She’d just ruined him for life and he couldn’t be more happier about it.</p><p>A downward wind dropped over them, rattling the car, breaking up their kiss.</p><p>Right. Still stuck in a life-death situation. His girl still trapped. Yet, he touched his forehead against hers, stealing another moment, having to get this said especially if fate was so cruel to lead him to the love of his life only to die with her.</p><p>“Yes, Betty. I love you and I’m in love with you and it’s you and only you for me. In fact”, he pulled back to gaze into her eyes, his palm lovingly cupping her cheek. “You made me a promise ten years ago and I’m telling you here and now, I fully intend to hold you to your word, Betty Cooper.”</p><p>Her eyes, filled with denial, wonder, anguish but much to his relief also with love, widened, then narrowed, confused. “What? What promise?”</p><p>He grinned, stealing another kiss from her, short but still so incredibly intense. “You’re the smartest person I know. Figure it out. But first, we still need to get you out. I have an idea. I’ll be right back, okay?”</p><p>Another kiss - yeah, her kisses were most definitely highly addictive - and he slipped out of the car. The rain was real heavy now, the wind blowing and tearing at him. They didn’t have much time left. He scrambled up the ditch, rushing over to the back of his truck, grabbing a hammer, a crowbar, a chain and his working gloves, thanking the Almighty for the construction work his dad had brought him up with to have things like that always in his truck, before rushing back down to the crashed car. Leaning in, he handed her the crowbar then slid out of his drenched jacket. “I’m going to bust in the windshield and try to lift it from the outside.”</p><p>She immediately got where he was going with this. “And I’ll try to help lift it with the crowbar from the inside until I hopefully can slid out from under it.” She sighed. “It’s worth a shot.”</p><p>It was probably their only shot, at least he had no idea what else to try. So it had to work, it just had to. He so badly wanted to kiss her again, but he figured this time was better used to save both their lives. With a nod he draped his jacket over her so she was protected from the glass splinters that were about to rain over her. Pulling out of the car, he slipped his hands into the gloves, jumped onto the hood and wasted no time in bringing the hammer down onto the windshield. It was already cracked, so he needed no more than two blows before the glass burst. He kicked the broken pieces out and bent down, slinging the chain around the stem of the steering wheel.</p><p>“It’s okay, I’m ready. Just be mindful of the splitters, try not to get cut.” He knew it was probably unavoidable for her to get out, still, he wanted her as much in one, unharmed piece as possible.</p><p>She pulled off his jacket and put the crowbar into position between her legs. Not the most ideal degree, but it would have to do. Looking up, he threw both ends of the chain over the lowest sturdy branch of the tree she had crashed into. It was just long enough, thank God for small mercies.</p><p>“Push!”, he called as he himself pulled at the chain, grunting with the effort, using his entire body as counterweight, praying the branch didn’t snap. He felt something move. Twisting around to gaze into the car, he saw the compartment indeed lifting. Yes! “Betty, quick!”</p><p>She was already lifting herself, pulling out her legs to squat onto the car seat. Just in time. He heard an ominous crack overhead.</p><p>“Archie! Watch out!”</p><p>The branch came crashing down. He jumped off the hood barely in time to avoid being struck down by it.</p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>Puh. That had been close. Rounding the open door, he held out his hand to help her climb out. “Yeah. You? Can you walk?”</p><p>Taking his hand, she scrambled out, at last standing in front of him. She nodded, blinking rain and tears out of her eyes. “You did it. You got me out.”</p><p>“Never underestimate the strength of a man desperate to save the life of his girl”, he told her with a crooked smile, hugging her to him, but careful, not trusting her seemingly more or less unharmed appearance. The wind roared, picking up force by the second, reminding him that they still weren’t safe.</p><p>“Come, we need to get away from here.” Being in the woods in the middle of a storm, having a tornado heading towards you, was definitely not the place you wanted to be.</p><p>They moved, him helping her up the ditch, and they ran over to his truck. She climbed in through the driver’s door, scrambling over to the passenger seat, him close behind her, turning the ignition before she was seated properly, speeding away.</p><p>“We’ll never make it back to town”, he concluded after gusts of winds made him swerve four times, barely avoiding landing back in the ditch.</p><p>“The bunker!”, they said simultaneously. It wasn’t too far away from here, they might just make it in time there.</p><p>Speeding as fast as he dared, they raced through the stormy darkness, the sound of the wind playing with them so deafening, it drowned out even the rain battering down on them.</p><p>Before them, a small twister formed, brushing against them, sending them spinning. Gritting his teeth, he held an iron grip onto the wheel, doing everything to keep them on the road. The twister dissipated, leaving them standing square on the pavement.</p><p>He panted, his heart racing.</p><p>“My God, Archie ...”</p><p>He glanced at her, seeing the same fear shining out of her shocked eyes he felt, her face even paler than before. But it also calmed him, strengthening his resolve to protect and save not only her life but also their love and future. Reaching out, he covered her hand with his, squeezing it reassuringly. “We’ll get through this, Betts. I’m going to get us to the bunker.”</p><p>Thus promised, he put the car in reverse to get back into their line, switched gears and pressed down onto the gas, driving just fast enough that he felt he could remain in control of the car.</p><p>It seemed to take them forever, and there were a couple of more scary moments, but at last, they were as close to the bunker as they could get by car. They spilled out of the truck. Taking her hand into his, holding on fast, they ran through the rain and heavy winds, only letting go when they reached the lock door of the bunker to heft it open.</p><p>The roaring of the wind turned to a high whistling sound. Looking up, they saw a dark wall of whirl moving fast towards them. Eyes wide, he pushed Betty in front of him. “In, in, in!”</p><p>She vanished down the lock and he jumped in after her, pulling the lock door close over them or better trying to. The wind was so strong, it pushed against it with such force he couldn’t pull it down. “Betty! I can’t get it closed!”</p><p>They needed it closed. Maybe they still were protected enough at the far ends of the bunker if it stayed open, maybe not. It wasn’t a chance he was willing to take.</p><p>He felt her arms closing around his waist, holding on tight. Catching on, he gripped the door with both hands and let go of the ladder with his legs, yanking it down with both of their weights.</p><p>It did the trick, the flap coming down with a loud bang, shutting out the whistling roaring of the tornado about to swipe over them. Betty let go and he angled with his legs for the ladder so he could twist the lock shut.</p><p>Once he was satisfied it was locked as tight as possible, he dropped down to the ground.</p><p>Panting, he straightened, staring at Betty. Both of them wide-eyed, both of them pale but most importantly, both of them still alive.</p><p>“See? Told you”, he pointed out in a pant, before reaching for her and finally treating himself to another kiss of those irresistible lips of hers. Wrapping his arms tight around her, he deepened it as he lifted her up to carry her to the living room where he sat her down onto the cot, resting his forehead against hers. “Now how stupid would it have been to leave you when you told me to go?”</p><p>Her chest heaved with her ragged breathing. “Archie ...”</p><p>“Hmmm?”</p><p>“You’re an idiot.”</p><p>He chuckled, pulling his head back to gaze into her eyes, stroking a few locks of her wet hair back behind her ear. “Better get used to it. I’m your idiot now.”</p><p> </p><p>*****</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for all the kudos and comment, I’m grateful for any sign of you liking this. Obviously, I loved so much about this chapter and hope you enjoyed it as well.<br/>There’s more to come soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. My core</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Finally in safety! Time for the adrenaline to come down. But what will that bring to light? And are they truly safe in the bunker?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>3 - My core</strong> </span>
</p><p>She stared at him, saying nothing, just gazing into his eyes. He sighed and leaned back. He knew they still had to talk about a lot, but first things first. Straightening, he got back to standing, taking stock.</p><p>“We should get out of these drenched clothes.” He walked over to the trunk in which they all had started to leave some clothes in, ever since founding themselves having to burn their bloody clothes and having to get home naked down to their underwear, vowing to never again let that happen. He rummaged through it, pulling out their bags filled with spare clothes left there, along with a pair of fresh towels.</p><p>“Here.” He held her bag out to her. “Do you need help?”</p><p>Looking down, she shook her head.</p><p>Sensing she needed a moment to process, he sighed and pointed to the tunnel. “I’m going to quickly change over in the bathroom. But don’t get fully dressed yet, okay? I want to check you over first, make sure there aren’t any injuries overlooked.” He gently touched the side of her face that sported the nasty bump and some cuts. “And we need to take care of those at least.”</p><p>“I’m fine, Arch.”</p><p>He narrowed his eyes. “You crashed with your car against a tree and were pinned for who knows how long. And I bet you’re still full of adrenaline that might mask some serious injuries. We’re going to check you out properly and take care of every single cut and any other injuries we might find and that’s final.”</p><p>She blinked up at him. He held her gaze, not backing down. Something in her eyes changed. Her lips opened. “You’re different.”</p><p>He frowned, taking her statement in. Eventually, he nodded. She was right. He did feel different. Part of him felt as if he had entered adulthood over the course of the last hour. “I’m grown up now, I guess. And even more important, I know what I want now.”</p><p>Her eyes widened, her lips still parted. But no word left them.</p><p>With a sigh, he put his hand to the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll give you a moment. Just please call me if you need help, okay?”</p><p>She still stared at him open-mouthed, but then she closed her lips and nodded, looking defeated.</p><p>It was hard to walk away from her as the last thing he wanted right now was to not have her in his watchful sight constantly. He really was worried about her and possible injuries they might not see, but he could also see that she was completely overwhelmed, not very surprisingly so. He kind of had time to process while he was going through these world-shifting moments this night, albeit short that time was. And maybe a lot of what he knew now for certain had been a long time coming to him, and that not just since their kiss but already a while before that and even before this crazy mess with Jughead’s fake death had happened, so tonight had only been the conclusion to that process.</p><p>He stared at himself in the mirror, back in the tiny bathroom of the bunker. A man stared back at him. Not a boy or even a teen anymore. God. How a little more of an hour could change someone so much. He stared at that man in the mirror. Someone new, someone he didn’t know or understood completely yet. But it was most definitely still him. And it was most definitely a man who knew what he wanted. Well. Perhaps not everything, but he knew the most important thing: who he wanted.</p><p>Everything else was going to come later, falling in line hopefully.</p><p>Of course, first, there was still the very important question if Betty was even willing to give him another chance to prove to her that this man he’d become over the last hour was determined to make her happy for the rest of their lives.</p><p>Not to mention that there was still the pretty enormous obstacle of her currently being in a relationship with his best bud.</p><p>It didn’t feel particularly good to him that the very second thing he seemed to do as that man he’d become was try stealing his best friend’s girlfriend from him. He sighed and turned away, starting to strip.</p><p>There was no way around it: it was a dick move. As for that matter, he guessed it wasn’t exactly the gentleman way to pledge his life to another girl barely an hour after he broke up with his girlfriend off and on for two and a half years.</p><p>He rubbed with the towel over his hair and face.</p><p>So yeah. Not a move he was proud of. Still, he neither regretted it, nor was it going to stop him from fighting with all he was to win and keep Betty’s heart.</p><p>Because he loved her and his heart belonged as of now and forever to her. He had to try it or he would regret it for the rest of his life. If she didn’t want him, okay, then he’d have to accept that and resolve himself to stay her best friend and love her from afar. But if she did love him back ... The endless possibilities of that, the promise of happiness that particular future held not only for him but also her ... It would be worth everything, even if it meant burning down all his other relationships he had and were dear to him.</p><p>Plus, there was still the chance that Jughead was going to forgive him over time. He had that big of a heart and he of all people had to understand that you couldn’t walk away from loving Betty Cooper. And that her happiness was more important than his own.</p><p>Yeah. At least he hoped Jughead would eventually come around.</p><p>Of course, first Betty had to love him back in return and choose him over Jughead.</p><p>Something that wasn’t going to be easy, judging from their last conversation they had in this very bunker. He hoped that wasn’t going to be a bad omen.</p><p>Before all that though, they still had to make sure that she was actually well and able to make a choice in the first place.</p><p>With that in mind he threw the towel into the sink, quickly dressed and grabbed the very well stocked first aid kit they also kept in the bunker nowadays. Heaven knew they had to use it way too often.</p><p>It was the first time though they needed it for Betty and that was something he hoped stayed the first and last time. Throughout all they’ve been through, Betty never got hurt physically. No, her wounds and torture all happened mentally and that was probably worse, still, he wasn’t used to see Betty actually hurt, see blood on her that was hers and not someone else’s and he found himself absolutely hating it.</p><p>Grinding his teeth, he filled a bowl with water and marched back to the living space part of the bunker, determined to take care of every single cut on her, if she liked it or not.</p><p>She was still sitting on the cot, but he was pleased to see she had stripped out of the drenched clothes, only pulling on a long shirt though as instructed by him. Stepping towards her, he then though spottet a nasty gash over the length of her left shin.</p><p>“Shit, Betty, you’re bleeding!” He rushes towards her, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Why didn’t you say something?”</p><p>“I hadn’t noticed, not until I pulled off the jeans. They stuck”, she replied in a detached tone that sent his head snapping up towards her, scanning her still way too pale face.</p><p>He cursed silently. “I think you are in shock.”</p><p>She blinked. “That may be an accurate observation.”</p><p>That wasn’t good. People could die from shock. Okay, okay, he needed to calm down. Panicking wasn’t going to help anyone. When they had trained as life guards for the swimming pool, they had had learned what to do with shock. Keep them warm. Don’t leave them out of your sight.</p><p>Well, great job he’d done so far. He told her to strip and not get redressed and then he’d left her alone. Quickly, he got up to get one of the blankets that he wrapped around her, before he moved over to the small cooking station where he turned on the gas cooker to heat up some water for a tea.</p><p>Returning to her, he took a closer look at the gash. He didn’t like what he saw there either. Blood was welling up way too strong and he could see with his eyes alone that there were still pieces from her jeans stuck to the wound.</p><p>“Betty?” He reached up to cup her uninjured cheek. Her skin was also too clam for his liking. “I need to clean this wound, okay? I’m afraid it’s going to hurt.” She nodded, as if she didn’t care. His jaw clenched. “Then we see that we get you warm again.” Again she nodded, not saying anything. “Hey? You still with me?”</p><p>She blinked. “Of course I am. I’m fine, Arch.”</p><p>He swore then and there to never utter those words to her again when they weren’t true, because he understood now how unnerving, infuriating and worrisome they truly were. “No, Betty, you’re not. But I’ll try my best to get you there.” He stroked with his thumb over her cheek tenderly, before he let his hand fall down in order to get to work.</p><p>First he cleaned the wound, washing it out as best as he could and prying some particular stubborn particles of her jeans out with pliers. She should have hissed and tried to jerk her leg away but she didn’t, which really started to scare him, especially as he could still feel how cold her skin was. It didn’t help either that he couldn’t really stop the blood from welling up again and again. It wasn’t much or anywhere near gushing out, still, he didn’t like it at all.</p><p>“I think you’ll need stitches here”, he sighed, hating that he couldn’t drive her straight to the emergency room right now.</p><p>“I trust you, but you’re not going to stitch me up here, Archie”, she replied and he was relieved to hear some funk back in her voice.</p><p>Glancing up, her eyes looked a bit more alive. That was good. He flashed her a crooked smile, determined to keep that trend going. “No? Afraid you’ll scar? May I remind you how Mrs Walker used to gush over my excellent stitch work that was, if I recall correctly, the best of class? Including yours?”</p><p>Some warmth shone back in her eyes as she returned the grin. “One, Mrs Walker adored you and hated me, so that wasn’t very hard to achieve. Second, that’s fine, I very much prefer being able to get and keep a car running than to sew a perfect stitch line. Third, that was back in third grade and I haven’t seen you once with a needle since then, so no, forgive me when I don’t feel confidence in you taking a needle to my skin.”</p><p>Fair enough. “Well, I’d love to prove you wrong, but lucky you, there’s no sewing kit in the first aid kit, so I guess it will have to wait until we get you to the emergency room”, he told her as he disinfected the wound before he started to wrap it up tightly, applying multiple layers of bandages so it couldn’t bleed through too quickly. He made a mental note to check it in a few hours, should they still be stuck here by then.</p><p>“I’m not going to the emergency room”, she stated.</p><p>“Yes, you are, and if I have to carry you there myself and cuff you to a hospital bed”, he stated right back with a glare.</p><p>She blinked again. She was really doing that a lot tonight. “I don’t need the emergency room. I can go to Dr Heller tomorrow or so, if it’s really necessary. The staff in the emergency room will have enough to do with real emergencies, no need to waste their resources on some stupid gash.”</p><p>While he saw her point, he so wasn’t on board with her stupid bravery. “Again, let me remind you: You were in a car crash, pinned down. You could have all sorts of injuries we can’t see, besides this ugly gash or the shock you’re in. You need to be checked over properly and with all due respect to Dr Heller, he’s not the guy for that job. So yes, you are definitely going and you’ll let them do what is necessary.”</p><p>“Says who?”, she challenged, getting annoyed.</p><p>He welcomed it, anything was better than the indifference from a few moments ago. “Says I”, he simply returned as he got up, walking over to the cooked water to pour it over an herbal tea bag. Bringing it over, he put the mug on the nightstand.</p><p>She observed him, a frown between her eyes. “It’s not your call to make. It’s mine.”</p><p>“I’m aware of that. But frankly said, I don’t really care. Your wellbeing is far more important than whatever you think you have to prove by being irresponsible with your health.” Grabbing the pliers and the disinfectant he gently raised her face up and towards the light so he could better see if there was still any glass in one of those cuts. “If you want to be mad at me for that, fine. As long as you’re actually alive and well enough to be mad at me, I’m good with that.”</p><p>Her eyes narrowed but she held her head still as he inspected her cuts. “You’re a hypocritical, overbearing knucklehead.”</p><p>Knucklehead, huh? Well, then she wasn’t too mad. Thankfully, the cuts seemed rather superficial with nothing stuck in them so he put the pliers away to start disinfect them. “How you figure?”</p><p>“A year and a half ago you laid here, beaten half to death, stabbed, and you still put up a fight when we even suggested getting you to a doctor. Then a year ago, after you fought with all those G&amp;G-lunatics to get all the kill cards back, the same thing - and now you make such a fuss over a few bumps and cuts? Hypocrite!”</p><p>His eyes dropped briefly to hers and he shrugged, unfazed. “It’s not the same.”</p><p>“Because I’m a girl? Great. Let’s add sexist to the list”, she huffed.</p><p>“Well, you undeniably are”, he pointed out. “But no, it’s not the same because you’re not an escaped murder convict on the run from the police, the state troopers and a mob boss who’s also a G&amp;G game master so going to see a doctor is out of the question. And it’s not the same as after all the fights in the pit I had, I knew how to take care of my battered body, and I also know my limits.” Finished with the cuts, he tenderly ran his fingers through her hair, pulling out her hairband to free her hair from its iconic ponytail so he could gently search her scalp for any hidden bumps and cuts. “You were in a car crash caused by a tornado. Nor do you practice boxing on a daily level - or any sport, really, so you are neither used to having to deal with injuries on a regular basis nor are you aware of your limits. See? Whole different ball game we’re talking here.”</p><p>“Oh.” She wasn’t happy to stand corrected.</p><p>Wise man that he’d become, he held his tongue and renounced from pointing out the most important reason why this was so fundamentally different: she was his girl and he had a very keen interest in her wellbeing.</p><p>His fingers glided over another bump maybe three fingers behind her left ear, causing her to wince. Frowning, he turned her head slightly and stroked her hair away. The bump wasn’t too big yet, but the coated blood around it had his worries flaring up again.</p><p>“Any nausea? Headache?”, he asked as he dabbed the blood as well away as he managed it.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Sighing, he let go to squat down in front of her again, taking another close look into her eyes, searching for any sign of a fib or indication of a possible concussion. He put his hands on her knees. “You sure?”</p><p>“Archie, will you please relax already? I’m here, I’m talking, I’m not bleeding to death here. Your hovering and - intensity - is the only thing here that makes my head spin.”</p><p>Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. Part of him knew she had a point here. The rest of him was giving an iff about reason, only aware of his girl being hurt. “Sorry, Betts, but there’s no off button on my worry here. You’re the most important person in my life and I happen to love you more than life itself. So I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with me until a real doctor gives you a clean bill of health.”</p><p>There was that blink again. Right. He was moving way too fast. She was still a few pages behind him, he reminded himself.</p><p>“Here, drink this. It should help warm you up.” He reached for the mug of tea, closed her cold hands around it, removed the tea bag and stood up to throw it away. Turning back to her, he stayed the few feet away, unsure what to do now. Well, he knew what he wanted to do: wrap her into his arms and lay her down so she could rest a little while letting his body heat warm her up. Unfortunately, he didn’t think she was ready yet to let him that close.</p><p>In the silence that enfolded they heard wind battling against the bunker lock, causing both of them to look towards the tunnel, alarmed. He moved to take a look into the tunnel, which also put his body between the lock and Betty.</p><p>He could hear the whistling of the wind again, and the ladder rattled a bit, but as far as he could see, the lock withheld those incredible forces nature attacked it with.</p><p>“I hope everyone else is safe.”</p><p>Looking around, he found Betty standing behind him, peering also into the tunnel.</p><p>Turning his back towards the tunnel, he ushered her gently but firmly back to the cot. “Will you please stay put and refrain from putting weight on that leg?”, he asked, exasperated. He never had been that bad at taking care of himself, hadn’t he? Wrapping the discarded blanket back around her and pushing the mug of tea back into her hands, he laid a reassuring hand onto her shoulder. “I hope so too. Our friends are all at La Bonne Nuit which apparently was originally a shelter too. And I talked to Mom not long before I found you, she said she was heading with your mom and Jellybean to the shelter at the Sheriff’s office to meet FP there. So I think they should be safe there.” He hesitated, before he pulled a chair over to sit down in front of her, covering her hands around the mug with his. “I don’t know anything about Charles though, and I’m sorry, Betty, I wasn’t able to reach Jughead. He wasn’t at the concert yet and my calls to him didn’t get through. Now, I’m trusting they both found shelter too, but ...”</p><p>She turned her right hand around to squeeze his. “It’s okay, Arch. They left for New York State last evening, chasing some new lead about the tape stalker. There’s a similar case that apparently happened in some small town twenty years ago. They won’t be back for a day or two.”</p><p>“Oh. Oh good. That’s good.” It was. Of course it was, he was relieved to know they were both in no danger from this tornado. But he sensed something off in the way she told him, like there was something she wasn’t telling him. He thought about probing, but these waters were way too muddy right now. “Well, I’m sure he’s worried sick about you. You can text him from my phone, if you want. It may not get out yet, but there’s hope it goes through as soon as the signal’s working again.”</p><p>She looked down at the mug. “Thanks, maybe later. As you said, it’s no use right now anyway.” She raised the mug to her lips to finally take a few sips, leaving her other hand wrapped in his though.</p><p>“Okay ...” He was kind of surprised by her answer. Hesitating, he again thought about inquiring further or at least question her decision. Were he in Jughead’s place, he for sure would want her to try whatever she could to get word out to him that she was safe. Hell, before he’d found her, he had been in that same position and not knowing if she was safe had been something terrible he hoped he never had to go through ever again. He may be determined to make Jughead’s girl his, still, he didn’t want him to have to worry unnecessarily. Maybe he should just send him a quick text?</p><p>“Arch? How did you even know where to find me?”</p><p>At her question he glanced back at her, suddenly very aware that they were still holding hands. She was watching him closely. Or curiously, he wasn’t entirely sure.</p><p>Glancing at their hands, he turned his in order to slide his fingers between hers, holding on tight, before he met her searching eyes with a shrug. “Honestly? I don’t know. From the moment I knew about the tornado, the only thing I could think about was you. I was so scared, Betty. Please, never put me through something like that again. The uncertainty and fear were killing me. I made Cheryl tell me what she knew ...”</p><p>“Whoa. You made Cheryl do anything? Cheryl Blossom? And you’re still breathing with all body parts attached?”</p><p>He grinned. “Yes, Mam. I did. And feel free to check for yourself”, he added, his grin turning sly. She blushed, glancing down. His grin deepened. Oh, he was going to have so much fun teasing her. “Well, she told me about you coming home from Polly’s so when you didn’t answer to my texts or calls, I decided to come looking for you, figuring you might still be on the road to Riverdale somewhere.”</p><p>She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you found me. Or that you headed straight towards a tornado instead of staying where you were already safe. That was so reckless of you.”</p><p>“I couldn’t stay there, not without being sure you were safe. And ... It’s hard to explain, Betty, but it was like I felt how you were in trouble. Everything in me screamed to go find you. So that’s what I did.” She stared again, apparently speechless. So he continued. “How I found you in the woods ... Maybe it was luck, but again, something urged me forward, wouldn’t let me turn around, even after I realized I was heading straight towards the storm front. I had to go on until I found you. There was no other option. Not for me.” He leaned forward, his hold on her hand tightening. “Seeing your crashed car ... Betty ... You have no idea how horrendous and scary that was.”</p><p>Again she blinked, followed by gazing deeply into his eyes, searching. He hid nothing from her, let her see everything he felt, let his love and his new-found certainty about where he stood and what he wanted shine out straight from his soul.</p><p>Another blink, but something changed, her eyes clearer when she stared back at him. She put the mug away, slipped her hand out of his but he hadn’t time to feel heart crashing disappointment because she laid her hands onto his cheeks, taking another eternal heartbeat to gaze into his eyes before she leaned forward to kiss him.</p><p>A soft kiss, almost gentle, nothing like any of their kisses before. There was no bursting out passion, no desperation, no fear of dying, no urgency in this kiss. Yet that did in no way mean it wasn’t as world shifting as the last two ones had been. As gentle and soft as it was, it was running so deep, filled with so much love, and again with such an undeniable finality, at least for him, it was an even more memorable kiss than the others had been, consuming all of him, filling his heart and soul with an happiness he hadn’t known it existed.</p><p>But abruptly she ripped her lips away from his, shaking her head. “No, no, no, no. We can’t do this. Not like this. Veronica ... I can’t do this to her. I won’t. Until you ...”</p><p>“I broke up with her”, he told her, interrupting her rant, covering her hands, still on his face, with his.</p><p>Her eyes widened. “What? When?”</p><p>He smiled ruefully. “Betty, I left a shelter right before a tornado hit town in order to go find you. She tried to stop me. I wouldn’t let her. Trust me, it’s over.”</p><p>But she didn’t. He could see the doubt in her eyes even before she replied, resigned. “I’ve heard that before, Arch. After we kissed as well. The next day you got back together with her. Tomorrow the tornado is gone. And you ...”</p><p>He cringed. Right. He definitely couldn’t blame her for not just taking him by his word. “And nothing, Betty. I get why you’re hesitant to believe me. Trust me, I know how much I’ve hurt you in the past. You have no idea how truly sorry I am about every single time I betrayed the trust you showed me by offering me your heart. Hell, I most definitely don’t deserve another chance after the crappy way I treated you.” It was true. He knew it. Just this time, it didn’t stop him from fighting for that chance, with every fiber of his being. “Yet I do hope you’re finding it in yourself to grant me another chance. I promise you, it will be the last. This time, I won’t botch it up again. This time, I will do whatever I can do to never again hurt or disappoint you.” He gently nudged her hands off his face, guiding them to rest over his heart, still firmly covered by his, holding them there in place. “This time, everything is different. And both Ronnie and I know it. That was even before I found you, myself not having realized yet just how totally and irrevocably I am in love with you. You’ve ruined me, Betty Cooper, for any other girl, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”</p><p>Her eyes misty, she stared at their knot of hands over his heart before looking back into his eyes. She bit her lip. “Arch, I want to believe you, so badly, but how am I supposed to trust that? When you were still together with Veronica not even a couple of hours ago? And now suddenly, it’s supposed to be me forever? How can even you be sure about it not being a fluke brought on by disaster?”</p><p>Damn it, why had she always to nail his weak points with such accuracy? He breathed out, feeling like whatever he answered, it was going to determine the biggest and most important part of the rest of his life. “Because being this scared about you, not knowing if you were safe or even still alive, having every instinct screaming at me that you were in danger and that I had to find you or I might lose you forever ...” He swallowed, that same fear gripping his heart again, even with her sitting right in front of him now. He shook his head, trying to shake it away. “That’s a pretty big eye-opener, Betty. Look, after our kiss in my garage, yeah, I was confused. It changed everything I thought I knew and while part of me felt deep down that I wouldn’t have kissed you if my heart hadn’t already made up its mind, my head wasn’t as fast to catch up. It was already getting there though. I tried to tell you, through my song I wrote for you, it the only way I knew to put into words what I was feeling.” A pretty big failure on his part. Though, he still hoped she would one day let him sing the entire song for her.</p><p>“You said you loved her, Archie. You can’t tell me with your words one thing and with your music another”, she pointed out, sounding more tired than angry.</p><p>Shit. How could he get through to her already? “Like said, my head and my heart weren’t yet on the same page. But truth is, I was going to break up with Ronnie soon, regardless if you were having me or not, because I realized pretty much the same day you ended it here that I had no business staying together with her when my heart longed so much for you. I just didn’t know how. Or when. I mean, I do still love her, it’s not an in love kind of love anymore but I wanted to hurt her as little as possible. Then this tornado came and it blew everything up.”</p><p>God. He was rambling, probably telling her much more than she actually wanted to hear. The most important thing still being unsaid though. He so badly wanted to hug her, bring his forehead against hers, but right now he needed to be able to look her into her eyes, read them, watching the doubt still swimming in them, hopefully managing to evaporate it.</p><p>“Yes, I know all of this is happening incredibly fast. But don’t you believe that one hour, hell one moment only even, can change you and your life? That happened to me tonight, Betty. Finding you in that crashed car, realizing you were trapped and you were most likely going to die if I couldn’t get you out of there ...” Swallowing, he brought her hands up to kiss them, needing a more intimate touch with her body. Over her hands, he gazed back into her eyes, which were still watching him intensely, but also guardedly. He breathed out. “Realizing that if I couldn’t, I was going to stay with you, wanting to die with you because there is no life for me without you in it - that was that moment for me, Betty. I became a man. Who knows that the boy he was hurt you badly and never appreciated you the way he should have. But I’m not that boy anymore. You know that, you already said I’m different. Well, I am. Now, I know this all is still incredibly new. For me too. But it doesn’t change the simple fact that my core is you, Betty. That this man I am now loves you with his whole being and will never look twice at another girl or woman again because there is no one with a more beautiful soul than yours. You are my beginning, you are my center, and I pray to God you will also be my future and my end.”</p><p> </p><p>*****</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow, thank you all for the kudos and the comments! They make my day and keep me writing. So glad you liked this story so far and hope I didn’t disappoint with this chapter.<br/>I’m aware the layout of the bunker isn’t quite conform with canon, at least I don’t think we ever saw the other end of that tunnel. But I keep it like that because come on, a bunker without a tiny bathroom? I wouldn’t want to spend the end of the world there ...<br/>Obviously, they still have to talk some things through, tough ones at that. So stay tuned, next chapter is coming soon!</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Darling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Stuck in the bunker, having just laid his heart at Betty’s feet, how will she react? Is she ready to give Archie another chance with her battered heart?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>4 - Darling</strong>
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</p><p>There it was, his entire heart, along with his soul, bared and laid out for her. To either grab it up and claim it as hers for the rest of his life - or to crush it once and for all.</p><p>Waiting for her to respond felt like the age of the universe. He’d said all he could. Or had he? A little begging could never hurt, couldn’t it? After all the pain he caused her in the past, he had every reason to beg. “Please. Just give me a chance. That’s all I’m asking right now. A chance to prove to you that I mean every word I’m saying. A chance to show you how much I love you. How very much in love I am with you. A chance to heal all those wounds I inflicted. A chance to make you happy. Betts, please. Let me have that chance.”</p><p>She sighed, looking down. His heart shuddered in dread.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>His heart stopped. She still looked down, hadn’t moved. Had his mind played a trick on him, telling him what he so desperately wanted to hear or ... “Okay?”</p><p>At last she looked up, her eyes swimming in tears. But there was a hopeful shine to them and most of all, she nodded. “Okay.”</p><p>His heart started beating again, twice as fast as hesitant euphoria battled to overtake his body. But there was one major thing he needed to know before he could give in into this euphoria. “What about Jughead?”, he asked carefully. Bringing up his best friend whose girl he was in the process of stealing was the last thing he wanted to do, but her worry about Ronnie had shown him that they needed to be crystal clear about where they stood - and where Veronica and Jughead figured in this new reality this tornado had dropped on them. He wondered already why, when she’d pulled back from their kiss just now, she had only mentioned Ronnie but not Jughead, a stark difference to the last time they had talked about them here in the bunker. Then she hadn’t stopped bringing him up again and again. He got it. Probably, he should have more cared about him and and Ronnie himself, but he had been more interested to first figure out what was going on between him and Betty before deciding where that left them with their boy- and girlfriend.</p><p>She broke eye contact, looking down again. “You don’t have to worry about him. I broke up with him yesterday.”</p><p>They ... Yesterday? “You did?” His voice was high with surprise. The last time he had seen them, they had seemed as strong as ever, much to his dismay. Now they were broken up?</p><p>She nodded, still not looking up. “I told him I needed him here, with me. That I wanted these last months of high school being about more than sick games and disgusting tapes. To spend time with my boyfriend before we have to head into different directions. Him breezing out of town for days in order to chase some stupid lead, breaking his promise to come to the concert tonight, leaving me alone yet again ... I just, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed him to put me - us - first, just this one time. So I blew up and told him fine, if he wanted to go, he should, but he would have no girlfriend anymore upon his return. As you heard, he went anyway. So that’s that.”</p><p>He heard the pain in her voice, saw the sadness in the way she hung her head. Hot anger flushed through his veins. He knew Jughead had a tendency to get obsessed with the mystery of the weak, but leaving Betty like that? “Damn, Betty. I’m sorry.”</p><p>She glanced up. “No. You’re not.”</p><p>He sighed. “Actually yeah, I am. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely relieved and elated to hear you’re actually single right now albeit for such a short time as it is - but I can see the way it ended hurt you and you deserved better than that.” He sighed again. “But I shouldn’t throw stones here, as much as I’m tempted to give Jughead a piece of my mind to breaking up with you like that, I fear my way to break up with Ronnie hadn’t been any better.” He hesitated, reluctant to speak out his worry, fearing it may gain power by just speaking it out loud. Still, again, he needed to make sure. “Though, knowing Jughead, maybe he thought you were just kidding. Are you sure he knows too that your relationship is over?”</p><p>She nodded, a shadow flying over her face. “Oh no, trust me, he knows I haven’t been kidding.”</p><p>He still wasn’t sure, then again, he too had asked her to trust him when he’d told her him and Veronica were over for good. So he could only accept her reassurance now. There was another very real possibility though. “Even though, hearing about the tornado, not being able to reach you - it may have put things into perspective for him as well, just like it has for me.” Actually, he was pretty sure even that Jughead was going to come rushing back to beg her on his knees to forgive him and take him back. He knew Jughead loved Betty. That he had never doubted. Just sometimes his treatment of her, like now or also recently with this sick game with the preppies where, due to their fake dating, he had seen more than usual of what went on between his two best friends and finding himself not being okay with Jughead’s blatant disregard of Betty’s needs and safety at all. But yeah, Jughead definitely loved Betty very much and he’d be an idiot to not come home with his tail between his legs and beg her for forgiveness. And with a solid relationship of almost three years in his corner, he was afraid that the girl they both loved was going to choose him yet again. “What if he wants you back?”</p><p>Her eyes held his as she shrugged. “Then he’ll learn he should have thought of that before walking out on me. And he’ll have to accept that Riverdale will not be the same town it was before a tornado of this magnitude swiped through it and changed the people who lived through it.”</p><p>His euphoria flooded him with blissful happiness. His chest incredibly tight, he barely dared to breath. “So ... Okay?”</p><p>With a slow nod, she smiled, the most beautiful, magnificent smile he’d ever seen. “Okay”, she confirmed one more time.</p><p>There was no stopping them anymore. He rushed forward, sealing his lips to hers, his arms wrapping her tightly into his arms as they kissed. Their first kiss as a couple. The first kiss where she truly and for all purposes was his girl, for now, forever.</p><p>Her kiss was as fervent as his. He got lost in it, couldn’t get enough of her. Only when he grew aware he was leaning her back onto the cot, his hand about to slip beneath her shirt, did some sense of reality come back to him, enough to break their kiss, dropping his forehead against her’s. “Betty, wait”, he whispered, breathing harshly. “We can’t continue this. Not here. Not now.”</p><p>“What?” Her dazed eyes cleared, staring at him incredulously.</p><p>He couldn’t resist kissing her again, short, intense, but once again he stopped before it heated up again. “You have no idea how badly I want you right now. But I want to do this the right way, Betty. And this”, he nodded with his head around the bunker, “is definitely not the right way. Not with you hurt and banged up from a car crash. Not still within hours of breaking up with our exes.” He stroked over her cheek, gazing lovingly into her annoyed eyes. “And for sure not right here on this cot where I’m certain you and I both had our fun on in the past.”</p><p>His last argument seemed to get through to her because she glanced around awkwardly and a bit guilty. “Yeah, you may have a point there.”</p><p>“I know”, he sighed, reluctantly. “So as much as I hate to say it, we can’t keep kissing like this. Because you, Betty Cooper, make me lose my control like that.” He snippet with his fingers. “It would lead to more, and then I couldn’t stop anymore. But you deserve more than this.”</p><p>She gazed up at him, a frown appearing between her eyes. “Arch, I get that here’s maybe not the right time and place but please, you’re not getting any stupid notions about nobility here or putting me back onto that fucking pedestal you had me on in sophomore year, are you? Because believe me, that won’t work, certainly not for a relationship between us.”</p><p>He frowned, caught of guard by her straight words.</p><p>“I’m far from perfect, Archie. I never was. And you rejecting me because you thought me too perfect - that hurt almost more than you flat out not loving me back”, she said, the bitterness in her voice cutting into his heart.</p><p>Shit. He kissed her tenderly, stroking again lovingly over her cheek, showing her his love for her as she was before he answered. “Oh Betty. I’m sorry. I never intended for my words to hurt you so much. Or come across like that. Please remember, I was sleeping with my teacher at that time. There was no way I could give you the answer you wanted back then, even though it broke my heart too, you know? I loved you. I so badly wanted to be good enough for you but I just wasn’t.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he moved his finger over it to still her. “Let me finish, okay darling? This is important. I want us to move forward and build this relationship on a clean slate, so full disclosure about our past. And as I think we both agree that moment was when everything between us changed, I believe it’s important we clear that one up. You with me here?”</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>“Good. So listen, when I called you perfect, it wasn’t because you are on a pedestal for me. Well, you kind of are, but that’s because you’ve been my hero ever since you slapped Reggie for calling me a fat carrot head back in kindergarden.” At that memory they both smiled and he felt her relax somewhat in his arms. “But it’s not because you are faultless in my eyes. I know you have faults. Of course I do, how could I not after all the years we’ve been best friends? You’re terrible at losing for instance, putting up a fight every single time you do.” She frowned and he grinned, knowing that irked her to no end. “And you’re such a know it all. Adorable sometimes, but gotta tell you, Betts, a lot of times it’s rather annoying.” Again a frown, and he honed in for a quick kiss to remind her that he was actually courting her here, not just listing her faults to make a point. “Plus, God, when you’re after something you turn into this growling, fierce dog with a bone, not letting go, no matter how much one tries to shake you lose. I know it sometimes turns out to be a good thing, but at other times it’s not only tiresome but can be dangerous for you. That’s another thing I’ve learned over the last years about you: You give way too little regard to your own safety. Going after murderers and psychos without back-up or calling for help most of the time.” He pulled back to glare darkly at her. “Something that has to stop, Betty. You need to remember that if you go risk your life unnecessarily, it’s not going to be just your life anymore. It’s mine too. You understand?”</p><p>“Arch ...” She was back to blinking. He was still moving too fast, he realized, but for him things were so obvious and crystal clear, so final, it was hard to scale back, especially now that she actually was officially his girl, safe in his arms.</p><p>“You’re aware this is a pot-kettle situation here, right? If anything, you’re worse than me. You always need to be the hero, diving into frozen lakes, going after burglars, laying down into coffins to be buried alive without a fight, attempting prison outbreaks. Running out into a tornado”, she pointed out, nodding towards the tunnel. “So say I’m willing to try to be better, then this has to go both ways, Archie Andrews. You too need to think about me before you go risk your life.”</p><p>Huh. She got him there. But she was right. It did go both ways and he needed to think more about what impact his decisions had on Betty and their relationship. So he nodded readily. “Deal.”</p><p>“Okay then. Deal”, she too agreed, actually holding out her hand.</p><p>Smiling, he shook it, adding a kiss to seal the deal. This one lasted longer and already, he felt himself getting lost in it again. In her. God. He couldn’t wait to get out of the bunker and as soon as she was recovered, get her somewhere nice for an undetermined and most importantly uninterrupted time alone with her.</p><p>She sighed when he broke away from her lips. “I really hope you plan to stop breaking away from me all the time. A girl could develop issues here otherwise.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t you worry. I’m so ready to take this further.” He touched the bump on her still pale face. “But that won’t be tonight.”</p><p>She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. “I know. And you’re right. Still sucks though. It took so damn long for us to get here. One would think a day or two more won’t hurt - but it feels like it does.”</p><p>As much as he was glad she was this honest with him, it dismayed him hearing her resignation. “I feel you. But I do believe, in hindsight we’ll be glad to have waited until we are in a better place, physically as well as emotionally and literally. But getting back to your faults, there is another one: you may have most people fooled but I actually know what an impatient girl you are, worse than me and that’s something to say.”</p><p>She wrinkled her nose. “Not my fault most people and things are just too slow to catch up with me.”</p><p>He chuckled, kissing that adorable nose of hers. “Uhuh.” Turning serious, he looked down at her hand still in his and turned it around, stroking over her palms, gently covering the way too many scabs there. Realizing what he was going to aim at next, she tried to pull her hand out of his, but he held on, looking into her eyes as he brought up her palms to kiss them. “Your biggest fault: penting up way too many things, letting it eat you up from the inside instead of talking about it or getting help. I hate that habit of yours. I always have. Probably I should have told you this years ago.”</p><p>“You knew.” She actually looked to be honestly surprised.</p><p>He sighed. “Of course I do. I’m your best friend. How many times did we hold hands? How could I not notice these? I just never knew how to bring this up with you. My fault. But I really hope you won’t need to do this again. And if you do, then please come talk to me about what caused you to hurt yourself. Deal?”</p><p>She averted her gaze. Eventually, she nodded, wordlessly.</p><p>Not the most promising response, but it was a start, which was why he left it at that for now. “So you see? I know you’re not perfect. That’s not what I meant. But to me, for me, you’re perfect anyway, faults included. And in the place I was at that time, I was so very much nowhere near perfect for you in return. I still don’t know if I am. I hope so. I try to be. But contrary to then, and also to Christmas two years ago or every other time I have entertained the possibility of asking you to give me another chance, I am at least free now. Free of other women having a claim on me. Free of worrying about blowing up the best and also most important relationship I have in my life. Free of demons hunting me like the memory of the Black Hood shooting my dad with me just standing there doing nothing. Free of fear to drag you into my mess because I got in bed with the wrong people who may turn to hurt you in order to control me or get revenge.” He wasn’t exaggerating, especially with Hiram Lodge he actually still was worried he might go after Betty for him leaving Veronica for her, even though he was also sure that Ronnie’s dad was basically elated over his daughter finally getting rid of the boy who never had been good enough for his hija.</p><p>“So what you’re saying is that every time there was a chance of you and me happening - it didn’t because you never felt you were good enough for me?” She shook her head, anger in her eyes. “That’s bullshit. And wrong on so many levels. First of all, you went to sleep with a parade of girls. So what? They were imperfect enough to be with you? That’s not only disrespectful for them but how do you think it made me feel, seeing that apparently every other girl at school, not to mention even a teacher, was getting you to look at her twice and want you to be with her but I was only ever good enough to be nothing more than your best friend?”</p><p>He drew back with a cringe, his eyes widening. “Fuck, Betty, no, you got it all wrong, I ...”</p><p>“Oh no, mister, you had your say, now it’s my turn. Because it hurt, every time there was another girl you locked your lips to. Even though I had Jug, loved him, was happy with him, there still always was this question whispering in my heart: Why her? Why not me? Why could you love her and not me?”</p><p>More than her words, which were blowing him away enough, it was the pain in her eyes that hurt him more than an actual blow ever could have. “No, no, Betty, don’t you get it already? Yes, there were all these other girls, but that was because I couldn’t have you! I fucked up with you, you had moved on to my best friend of all people, were happy with him, which hurt, okay? I’m aware I should have been cool with it, should have been happy you found someone who could give you what I couldn’t so soon. Should also have been happy for Juggie to find someone who loved him like you did. But I wasn’t. Not at all. Seeing you with someone else was torture and that it had to be my best bro was hell. I finally understood just how much I had fucked up. So I tried to own it, move on, thinking stupidly if I just found a girl for me, this jealousy that was eating me up was going to disappear. I was desperate to not be alone, but apart of Ronnie, I didn’t love any of them. It was always you. True, I wasn’t always aware of that, but I know it now. Just like I know now that even with Ronnie, my heart never completely belonged to her. That while I did love her, as much as I could love another girl besides you, she was neither my first love nor my true love or my soulmate. That was and is always just you. And yes, I know that’s totally unfair to her and for a long while, I wasn’t aware of it, actually believing that maybe she was actually the girl for me, my soulmate, but that’s how it is. Never doubt that, please.”</p><p>She shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter, Archie. That’s how it made me feel and even you telling me now that I got it wrong isn’t going to change how it made me feel then. But it’s not just bullshit because of that. Even more so I hate that you actually believe it true that you weren’t good enough. That’s some serious problem with your self-esteem, Arch, and it is so very wrong on top of that. Especially in regard to me. I am so messed up, Arch. Not even you know the extent of just how messed up I am and you probably still know me best apart of Jug. While you know me longer, he saw first hand the darkness growing in me.”</p><p>He started to shake his head. “Betty, if anything, you are the epitome of being filled with light.”</p><p>“See? That’s exactly what I mean.” She pulled away to get up, wincing when she put weight on her hurt leg. Where blood was starting to darken the bandage already.</p><p>Shit. “For heaven’s sake, get back here!” Exasperated, he got up and pushed her back down to sit. Grabbing the first aid kit, he kneeled in front of her to wrap another bandage over the first one. He really needed to get her to the hospital already.</p><p>“This darkness is real, Archie. My entire family is a line of murderers and serial killer. I have those same genes. And my dad really messed with my head ever since I was little. I blended out a lot of those things, but they are coming back to me and they freak me out.” She turned her palms up to stare at them. “This is only the tip of how messed up I am in the inside. If you love me and want to be with me, you also have to acknowledge that. You can’t continue to see me as this angelic being when I’m closer to being demonic really.”</p><p>He glanced up at her. “Please. You are so not demonic. That you even think it possible ...”</p><p>“Ugh, Archie, haven’t you heard a word of what I said?”</p><p>“Yes, I’m hearing every word. And I’m telling you, you are so wrong. Betty. I know you. I know all of you. Look, are you maybe messed up? Probably. So what? Everyone is a little messed up, some more, some less. We both are probably rather on the more side, how can we not after everything we went through? I also don’t deny that there is darkness in you. But again, so is in me. Betty, two times now I stood pointing a gun to a man’s head. And sometimes I still wonder if I shouldn’t have pulled the trigger.” If he had, he wouldn’t need to worry about Hiram hurting Betty now. Then again, he was pretty sure if he had, Veronica and her sister would have sooner or later figured it out and come after him. Or he’d be in prison. Either way, he wouldn’t be here now, with Betty at last his. So no, he definitely didn’t regret that choice. “Believe me, I understand darkness. I recognize it after seeing it first hand in so many people, me included. And you, Betty Cooper, are too full of light and warmth and love to let that darkness in you overtake you. You know it’s there and you fight it, keep it at bay, battle it back. Again and again and again.”</p><p>“You don’t know all I’ve done, Archie. If you would, I don’t think you would still think like that”, she said, so sadly.</p><p>“No, I wouldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I want to know all of it, but it will never erase what I already know you’ve done. Like being my friend, and Kevin’s, and Jughead’s, always defending us against anyone bullying us, loving us for who we are, never a question asked. Or how you always go out of your way to help anyone needing help or being treated unfairly. How you try to protect everyone at the highest cost if necessary. Nothing you will tell me can ever convince me that you are not good to the deepest of your core.” Leaving the bandages for the moment, he reached up to take her face into both of his hands. “And should you ever have any doubts, come to me. I’ll set you straight again every single time.”</p><p>Shaking her head, she sighed. “Funny. I always thought you the epitome of goodness and warmth. And I could argue day and night that if anyone here is not good enough for the other, it’s actually me, not you. That’s why I hate it so much when you say stupid things like that. You, like your dad had, represent the best of what Riverdale has to offer. Never doubt that. We all know it, all but apparently you.”</p><p>He definitely disagreed heavily with Betty here. “Darling, I think this will be the first thing we have to agree on disagreeing about.”</p><p>“Or we call it even and decide that we are both good enough for each other”, she proposed.</p><p>“I can definitely get on board with that idea”, he agreed, treating himself to another deep kiss he had to break apart way too fast again with a frustrated groan, echoed by hers.</p><p>He only had to take another look at the blood starting to seep through the bandage on her leg though to know it was absolutely the only way to go for the time being. Grabbing another bandage, he started to apply it tightly over the first.</p><p>“I’m tired.”</p><p>Alarmed, he looked back up at her. Yeah, she was, it was like all her energy and fire had dissipated while he had concentrated on her leg, leaving her exhausted. And so very pale. “I’ll be finished in just a moment, okay? Then you should lay down for a bit, maybe get a bit of sleep.”</p><p>She nodded, her eyes already getting drowsy. He tried not to panic, reminding himself that she had had a long, tiresome day. Babysitting the twins all afternoon must have already been exhausting enough, then the drive back through the storm, the crash, coming to terms with facing almost certain death while being trapped in the car for who knew how long, then the race against the tornado after he got her out plus this emotional tornado they were going through during the actual tornado. It would be surprising if she wasn’t tired and needing to crash now that most of the adrenaline must have left her system.</p><p>But this damn wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding. The shock she’d been in. The bumps on her head. This fucking paleness ...</p><p>So much for not panicking. He tied the bandage and stood up, caressing over the injured side of her face to the back of her neck, checking her temperature. No fever, as much as he could tell, but as cold as her skin was to his touch it was hard to tell. That coldness though worried him more. She should be warmer by now.</p><p>“All right, darling, you can lay down now”, he gently urged her, nudging her sideways. She followed without resistance, her eyes fluttering close already. He gritted his teeth. Draping the blanket over her to tug it in tightly around her, he stroked over her still damp hair before straightening to stare down at her for a moment, his heart bursting with love but also worry.</p><p>Turning away from her, he went into the tunnel, checking the lock door. He could still hear the wind rattling at it, with heavy rain drumming down on it. Not as strong as before, but still strong enough that he wasn’t even tempted to open it in order to take a peek outside.</p><p>They had to wait for a while longer before they were able to leave so he could drive her to the hospital. That was, if his truck still was where they had left it. God, he hoped so, as unlikely as that seemed to be. Not just because of the emotional value his dad’s truck held for him, but he really needed the truck to get Betty on the fastest way to the hospital. She mustn’t walk with that leg, so he would have to carry her otherwise, which he deemed to be too slow. Damn. Maybe he could call for help, if he got a signal and got through to someone. Or if that didn’t work, he could go run for help, find some way of transport for the two of them.</p><p>But that would mean leaving Betty alone down here, which went against every instinct he had.</p><p>Restless, he went back to check on Betty. She was snuggled into the blanket, but caressing over her cheek, her skin wasn’t really any warmer than before.</p><p>“You’re hovering again”, she said softly with her eyes closed.</p><p>“You would too if you could see how you look”, he pointed out.</p><p>She opened one eye to glance up at him. “I’m fine, Archie.”</p><p>Ugh. This really had to be revenge for all the times he’d told her the same thing when clearly, he had been anything else than fine.</p><p>“I could use some warm arms around me though.” She opened her other eye too and lifted the blanket, inviting him into her cocoon. “Or does this new restraint you show now of all times also extend to cuddling?”</p><p>Instead of answering, he slipped in behind her, happy to enclose her tightly back into his arms. “Never”, he whispered into her ear, resting his chin onto her shoulder. Perfect. Now he couldn’t just keep a close eye on her condition and let his body heat warm her up, he had the added bonus of having the most wonderful girl, his girl, secure in his arms.</p><p>“Better?”, he asked in a murmur.</p><p>“Much”, she sighed in contend, cuddling closer to him.</p><p>Silence fell between them, but he could feel that she was still awake.</p><p>“Archie?”, she eventually broke the silence after several minutes had passed.</p><p>“Hmmm?”</p><p>“That promise you mentioned in the car ...”</p><p>Ah yes. The promise. He had wondered how long it would take for her to bring that up. “Betty, you don’t need to worry about that right now. Just rest, try to get some sleep.”</p><p>“You can’t be serious.”</p><p>His arms tightened around her. “About you sleeping? Of course I am.”</p><p>She twisted around so they were face to face now, her narrowing her eyes at him. “You can’t be serious”, she repeated, forcefully.</p><p>Seeing that there was no use in trying to table this conversation for a time when she wasn’t hurt and still reeling from everything that had happened, he smiled instead. “So I take it you figured it out?”</p><p>Her eyes searched his for confirmation of her suspicion. He shrugged, offering her a crooked smile.</p><p>She shook her head, flabbergasted. “You ... No. You can’t be serious. You just can’t.”</p><p>His smile just deepened as he stroked a damp lock of hair sticking to her injured side of her face away.</p><p>“This is crazy. At the beginning of this evening you still had another girlfriend. There’s no way you can already think about ...” she gulped, bit her lip, “... that.”</p><p>“Of course I can. Everything has changed over the last few hours, including me. And I know what I want. That won’t change anymore, not tonight, not tomorrow, not in a year or ten or fifty or seventy, if we’re lucky to get that old.”</p><p>She blinked. God. He really wished she would stop doing that. Then again, he should perhaps also start remember to not blast forward with such warp speed. He sighed, kissing her very tenderly. “Hey, relax. Remember, I only told you I’ll hold you to your word when I’m going to ask you that particular question again. Not that I’m doing it right now. Or tomorrow for that matter. Just a little ahead notice for you that I do fully intend asking you that same question from ten years ago again. And you, Betty Cooper, better not start breaking promises to me with that particular one. Okay?”</p><p>“You’re crazy”, she whispered, weakly.</p><p>He grinned. Probably. But if being crazy felt this good, then he was happy to be crazy for the rest of his life. As long as she was there with him to make him crazy for her. Pulling her carefully closer, he searched her lips for a long, slow kiss, taking all the time to really taste her, explore her mouth, seeing how deep he could go, his arms wrapping tighter and tighter around her, his body desperate to get as close to hers as physically possible. Actually, it longed for much more than just get close to her body. It wasn’t just him. She kissed him back with the same slow yet still incensing burn. Her arms snuggled around his waist, up his backs. And at one point he felt one of her hands trailing down his side to the front of his jeans, tight as they already were with what the closeness to her enticing body undeniably did to him. It sent his body in a frenzy, with his mind close behind.</p><p>But yeah, behind, leaving some last, thin thread of common sense left. Catching her hand, he stilled it, actually scooting an inch back from her, needing at least some space in order to cool down enough to not continue what they had begun.</p><p>“Betty”, he begged, maybe even with a whining undertone there. For her to stop instead of continuing. What a crazy, crazy world manhood turned out to be so far.</p><p>The inch he’d just gained was closed again as she simply followed to press herself against him, kissing up his neck.</p><p>His eyes fluttered close as everything in him tightened. Fuck. What she did to him ... How was it ever going to be once she wasn’t exhausted and hurt? If this was any indication, it wasn’t going to just be mind blowing, scorched earth world shifting, it was going to be Big Bang new universe creating.</p><p>He couldn’t wait. But he had to.</p><p>With a growl, he rolled over her, positioning her onto her back. Dangerous position. Shaking his head to clear the lusty fog threatening to overtake him, he glared warningly down to her. “Don’t make me get off this cot, Betts.”</p><p>She stared up at him innocently, her smile though anything else but innocent. “Who, me?” She walked two fingers slowly up his stomach to his chest. He felt himself shudder. “Whatever am I doing?”</p><p>“You’re going to be terribly naughty, are you?”, he groaned, battling not just his body and lust but also his instincts, all screaming at him how crazy he was to not follow this blatant invitation of hers.</p><p>“Oh Arch. You still have so much to learn”, she said, her smile bursting with promise and slyness.</p><p>Jeez. She was going to render him to a crazy, love-sick, Betty-addict. Well. He actually already was, he guessed.</p><p>“I can’t wait”, he promised, sealing it with a kiss into which he poured all his frustration and anticipation. But then he rolled off her, flipping onto his back beside her, panting. “Yet, we will.”</p><p>She sighed. “Seriously, Arch. Of all the times to mutate into Mr Wait and Restraint.”</p><p>He propped himself up on an elbow to frown down at her. It took everything he had to not touch her again. “You think I’m happy to be the sensible one here all of a sudden? That’s usually your job.”</p><p>She grinned knowingly. “Being grown up sucks, huh?”</p><p>“So very much”, he agreed full-heartedly. Yet, he was already checking her over. Her cheeks had flushed, giving it some color back, but overall she was still pale. Her skin though had considerably warmed as he had found out first hand. Pulling back the blanket over their legs, he was satisfied to see that for the moment, it was still pristine, no blood seeping through. He sighed with relief, tugging the blanket back in place.</p><p>“Satisfied I am not on the verge of waining away right in front of your eyes?”, Betty asked with an eyeroll.</p><p>“For now”, he confirmed, choosing to ignore her sarcasm.</p><p>“Never thought you’d be quite such a worry-nut”, she said, a big yawn overtaking it. She flipped back onto her side, her back invitingly turned towards him.</p><p>He was more than happy to comply, spooning her, gathering her back into his arms. “Actually, me neither. Not to this extent. But I can’t help it, not with you.”</p><p>“Well, I’ll give you a pass for tonight but you better get a grip on yourself. I won’t fight with you every time about going to a doctor when I sneeze”, she told him, yawning again.</p><p>“Message received. But I won’t make any promises other than I’ll try to keep it at bay”, he replied. “Of course, this problem is easily solved otherwise by you simply never again giving me such reason to worry.”</p><p>This time she first yawned, before answering, her voice turning sleepy. “Can’t promise you either other than trying to.”</p><p>“I’ll take it. Now go to sleep, darling.” He kissed her temple. “Your body will thank you.”</p><p>“I like that”, she murmured.</p><p>His eyebrows drew together. “What?”</p><p>“The darling. Never was a fan of diminutives but now you keep calling me darling and I find myself liking it.” She sighed contently, snuggling more into his arms. “A lot.”</p><p>He smiled. “Good. ‘Cause I don’t see myself stopping that again. It just came naturally to me.” Like second nature really, so much even, he hadn’t really noticed it until now. “My darling girl, Betty Cooper.”</p><p>“Sounds like a song title. An incredibly cheesy one”, she said rather dryly, but he could hear the smile in her voice.</p><p>True. But it did have a nice ring to it. “Maybe I’ll write it some day.”</p><p>There was no answer, her finally having fallen asleep. Kissing her neck softly so not to wake her again, he sighed with utter content, closing his eyes too. Happier than he’d ever been in his life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you love this chapter as much as I do. Finally one story where I have them actually, officially, together at last! <br/>A big thanks to everyone leaving comments or kudos, loving every single one of them!<br/>More to come! Eventually they need to leave the bunker to face this new world they are living in now. And their exes ...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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